Step-up bar foam fix

[ace422]

I know the oem will install for free if you buy the replacement foam from them and send in your bar. After looking into it with shipping back and forth it was about $35.

Just wanted to show a cheaper alternative for anyone interested. A buddy suggested I look into closed cell foam tubes used for bike grips or tool handles. Here's what I got.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bicycle-Cyc...922710?hash=item1c3288fcd6:g:oaQAAOSwq5lTmYgW

Its a tight fit, which is nice because it will stay in place. Getting past the bends took some persuasion, I greased the bar and just kept spinning the tube till it went all the way around.

Looks and feel good, we'll see how it holds up.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Always nice when you can do it yourself. I'm sure it was no fun installing it..

Looks good though.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

looks good, nice work.

 

[ace422]

Thanks, for a little over $7 and you get an extra tube, i'm super happy with it. It was a nice forearm workout lol.

 

[Coastiejoe]

They sell Large Diameter Heat Shrink Tube.

I think I would order some, slide it over it and hit it with a heat gun. It would protect the tubing without affecting the tubing.

If you do get it, get it a few inches to long as it will get shorter when ou heat it. To long and you can trim it with a razor,,,

 

[Spimothy Leary]

I always just yanked the crusty foam off and left the bare bar on ski's that had it installed but this is a pretty good non slip idea for the rare occasion it will be needed

Personally I never expected to use the bar anyway so I never gave it much thought.

 

[ace422]

They sell Large Diameter Heat Shrink Tube.

I think I would order some, slide it over it and hit it with a heat gun. It would protect the tubing without affecting the tubing.

If you do get it, get it a few inches to long as it will get shorter when ou heat it. To long and you can trim it with a razor,,,

Funny you mention that, my first attempt @ a cheap fix for this was pipe insulation and heat shrink. I didn't really like the look of it, the insulation comes pre-cut with a slit which really showed once the tubing shrunk. It was hard to get the edges to look clean too. I had it like that through out the summer, the heat shrink faded quickly. Black turned to grey after a few rides.

I was surprised how strong this stuff is. I was really cranking on it to get past those bends. But it did come from China so time will tell. I looked around locally for any bike shops that might have some but no one had the closed cell type.

 

[ace422]

I always just yanked the crusty foam off and left the bare bar on ski's that had it installed but this is a pretty good non slip idea for the rare occasion it will be needed

Personally I never expected to use the bar anyway so I never gave it much thought.

I thought of removing it all together, but it is helpful for my kids.

 

[mikidymac]

I just had mine done by Aqua Step this summer and it is not foam anymore now it is just rubber. I think I like your idea better.

 

[benjilafouine]

Mine is a bit worn out too. Would that do the job for me as well (GTI 2003)?

Benji.

 

[ace422]

The tube is just under 21in long with an I.d. of 3/4. I believe there are other sizes available

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk

 

[Mickirig1]

I put pipe insulation on mine with gorilla tape bridging the slit in the pieces to the back. Don't look bad, tape matches color. Spent like $7 on two steps. Nice padding. Nick sold me two steps for $150.

 

[jjsinaz]

I recently did mine. I ended up buying a cheap fan rake at walmart that had the foam tubing on the handle. I worked the foam tubing up the handle far enough that I could pour some of that stuff you use to lube up cables to pull them through conduit (KY Jelly would be a suitable alternative ). Once I had the lube in the end, I got my blow gun on the air compressor (regulated down to about 20 psi) and blew the jelly down between the foam and the handle and the foam slid the rest of the way off. Now with the foam good and lubed up, it slid right onto the bar. Since the jelly is water based, once it dried up it was a nice tight fit and looks good too. Cost me about 8 bucks total.

 

[Planekiller1]

Personally I would try the grip tape used on racing (Pedal) bikes seems like a good alternative but your way works awesome, although I bet it was a pain to get on. The tape is literally foam tape used for the handle bars on bikes...Although I'm not sure it would last long although if you hit it with the heat shrink it would be killer easy and sturdy Looks good anyway, good job!!!
-Kurt